officiate

verb

of·​fi·​ci·​ate ə-ˈfi-shē-ˌāt 

officiated; officiating

intransitive verb

1

: to perform a ceremony, function, or duty

officiate at a wedding

2

: to act in an official capacity : act as an official (as at a sports contest)

transitive verb

1

: to carry out (an official duty or function)

2

: to serve as a leader or celebrant of (a ceremony)

3

: to administer the rules of (a game or sport) especially as a referee or umpire

officiation

ə-ˌfi-shē-ˈā-shən 

noun

Examples of officiate in a Sentence

The bishop officiated the memorial Mass.

Two referees officiated the hockey game.

Recent Examples on the Web

Swinney doubled down on Tuesday, attacking the current state of officiating around the college football world. —Matt Audilet, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025

Their wedding was held at actress Connie Stevens’ Bel Air home; Touched by an Angel’s Della Reese officiated the ceremony. —Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 3 Nov. 2025

Jepsen opened up to Vogue about the ceremony last month, sharing that her aunt and uncle officiated the intimate ceremony which included just 100 guests. —Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Nov. 2025

Leipold said after a long pause, referencing fines for criticizing officiating. —Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin officiātus, past participle of officiāre "to perform a function, perform priestly duties," going back to Late Latin officiārī "to perform a function," derivative of Latin officium "duty, office"

First Known Use

1623, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for officiate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

officiate

verb

of·​fi·​ci·​ate ə-ˈfish-ē-ˌāt 

officiated; officiating

1

: to perform a ceremony

officiate at a wedding

2

: to act as an officer

officiated at the annual meeting

3

: to enforce the rules of (a game or sport)

officiate a soccer match